High efficiency passive piezo energy harvesting apparatus
First Claim
1. A method for passively discharging energy stored in a piezoelectric device, and for storing said energy in said piezoelectric device, comprising:
- disposing at least one inductor and an energy storage element in a circuit including said piezoelectric device;
orienting a plurality of diodes in said circuit biasable to form a plurality of discharge flow paths within said circuit to discharge said energy from said piezoelectric device;
forward biasing select ones of said diodes in said circuit;
discharging said energy from said piezoelectric device in one of said flow paths formed by said selected ones of said forward biased diodes, through said inductor and said energy storage element; and
storing said energy in each of said inductor and said energy storage element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A circuit passively discharges energy from a piezoelectric device and stores the energy in a power storage element. The circuit has two parallel flow paths each including a diode set and an inductor electrically connected to opposite sides of a piezoelectric device. A power storage element is connected to both inductors. The diode sets are alternately forward biased, and energy from the piezoelectric device discharges through the inductor(s). A portion of the energy is stored in the inductor(s) and the remaining portion is stored in the power storage element. The benefits achieved include passive switching between the parallel circuit paths through diodes in place of traditional switches, and the additional energy stored by the inductors which is also transferred to the power storage element. Passive switching conserves additional energy.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for passively discharging energy stored in a piezoelectric device, and for storing said energy in said piezoelectric device, comprising:
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disposing at least one inductor and an energy storage element in a circuit including said piezoelectric device;
orienting a plurality of diodes in said circuit biasable to form a plurality of discharge flow paths within said circuit to discharge said energy from said piezoelectric device;
forward biasing select ones of said diodes in said circuit;
discharging said energy from said piezoelectric device in one of said flow paths formed by said selected ones of said forward biased diodes, through said inductor and said energy storage element; and
storing said energy in each of said inductor and said energy storage element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for passively discharging a quantity of energy from a piezoelectric device using diodes biased to direct said energy in predefined flow paths, comprising the steps of:
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disposing a piezoelectric device having first and second terminals in a circuit;
connecting a first one of a pair of inductors to said first terminal of said piezoelectric device, and a second one of said pair of inductors to said second terminal of said piezoelectric device;
electrically linking a power storage element to a second terminal of both said first inductor and said second inductor;
disposing a plurality of diodes between said piezoelectric device, said first and second inductors, and said power storage element; and
biasing each of said diodes to form a plurality of flow paths operable to passively transfer said energy from said piezoelectric device to said power storage device. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A circuit for passively discharging a piezoelectric device and storing an energy of said device, comprising:
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a piezoelectric device having first and second terminals to discharge said energy;
a first inductor having a first terminal connected to said first terminal of said piezoelectric device;
a second inductor having a first terminal connected to said second terminal of said piezoelectric device;
a power storage element connected to a second terminal of both said first inductor and said second inductor; and
a plurality of diodes disposed between said piezoelectric device, said first and second inductors, and said power storage element, each of said diodes selectively biased to passively transfer said stored energy from said piezoelectric device to said power storage element. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification